


Love's a Word I've Always Hated

by nobody_nobody



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: 1980s, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Beverly Marsh is a Good Friend, Coming Out, Cute, Derry (Stephen King), Eddie Kaspbrak & Beverly Marsh Are Best Friends, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Make Up, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Soft Richie Tozier, draft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23575600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobody_nobody/pseuds/nobody_nobody
Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak have been asked out on his very first date, and his best friend Beverly Marsh helps him to get ready.R.I.P Gender Roles.This is a story about being and loving yourself ad it is extremely fluffy.Wrote this under gym class:)
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Kudos: 32





	Love's a Word I've Always Hated

**Author's Note:**

> Some Tunes:   
> Where Is My Mind - Pixies  
> Sports - Beach Bunny   
> Ribs - Lorde   
> Twin Size Mattress - The Front Bottoms   
> Helena - My Chemical Romance

It had sounded like a great idea when Beverly called and asked him to come over before his date, but now he was sweating. He did not even know if the meeting was a date. Probably best to not assume anything.

When Richie had asked him to meet him outside a gas station later that night, he had no idea what to expect. They would probably just but some snacks and talk or something. It was probably just a friend-thing. But the small voice inside his head reminded him of the glances the two of them used to share during math class. 

However, he knocked upon Beverly's door silently, scared that her dad might be home. But the expression on her face when she opened the door told him that her dad was still at work. Her short curly hair was pinned back with golden bobby pins and her sundress was blue with white flowers. Very pretty, as always. The sharp smell of cigarettes and lake water hit him as she pulled him into a welcoming hug. She had probably gone for a swim in the quarry earlier. 

"Hi Eddie, are you exited for tonight?" she asked with a smile. 

Wait a minute, how much had Richie told her? Not everything he hoped! Especially not about a certain event that took place in the library a couple of weeks ago. He shrugged his head and bit his lip anxiously.

"Yeah, Richie is nice," he said and glanced nervously back and front in the small apartment. He followed Beverly into her room and sat down at the keyboard chair as she sat down at the bed. Her room was nice, he thought. A pleasant mix between tomboy and femininity with a bunch of posters on her walls. He took a deep breath and asked:

"Did Richie tell you if this was date, because I'm kinda confused here."

The girl on the bed smiled crooked and said:

"No, he didn't tell me more then he told you, but based on the way he looks at you Eddie, i think it is safe to assume that Richie Trashmouth Tozier does have something like a date in mind. "

Oh. Eddie started to shiver. His first date was tonight and he was absolutely not prepared. Then a thought struck him:

"Beverly, please you need to help me to get ready!"

"Wow, I didn't thought you would be so straight forward Eddie", she said and laughed. The small guy looked at her and his desperate eyes basically begged her to at least give him some advice. And of course she would help him. They were best friends. 

"Sure Eds", she finally said and the boy suddenly looked way less miserable. "First, you gotta shower and brush your teeth. Dating 101." 

"Already done", he said. Of course, Beverly had forgot about the germaphobe thing.

"Okay, now you need to come up with some stuff that you and Richie has in common. Like shit you can talk about so it doesn't get awkward."

"That's not gonna be hard either, we always have something to talk about." Eddie smiled like crazy just at the thought of the boy he was soon about to meet. "We've been friends since kindergarten so of course it won't get awkward. Bev, all this is things you need to know to be friends, i need to know the date stuff!"

"Yeah I know, that's what we are getting to now." 

Eddie shuffled nervously on the piano chair. If Beverly stared talking about "birds and bees" it was going to get seriously uncomfortable. But the fact that his sexual attraction to his dear friend was nonexistent, and the fact that she knew it, made things a bit more bearable.

"Your outfit needs to be good, in other words, you wanna borrow something?"

He looked at her a bit offended, but after a glance down at his current clothes, he nodded. Wow, Eddie did not expect her to be so honest. Beverly opened her drawer and looked through the garments. Finally she pulled out a button up. It had a dark pink color and did not look as feminine as the boy had feared. 

"Here, put this on, and try tucking it in."

Eddie hesitated for a moment, but then pulled his own shirt off and began to buttoning the new one. It fitted alarmingly good given that Beverly was a girl and small for her age. 

"Wow i look good", Eddie admitted. He could not get his eyes of him self in the little mirror on Beverly's desk. 

"Wait here, I'm going to see if I have any perfume", she said and disappeared down the hall. 

Eddie rose from his chair and looked around in the girl's room. The Losers almost never hung out at Beverly's place considering her father. The room was kind of messy but still neat in a way. In her windowsill she had a bunch of small boxes filled with pens, jewelry and and one with make-up. Eddie ran his hand through the different types of pencils and brushes. He just stood there for a while, his hand hovering over the make-up. This reminded Eddie of the times he had been standing at the pharmacy in front of the make-up shelves and never really had the nerve to try on a bit of lip gloss. He had always ended up with just getting his inhaler and ignoring the urge to sneak one of the small pencils down his pocket. But now... He took a deep breath and lowered his hand down towards the box- 

"I found this!" Beverly said as she bursted into the the room with a expensive looking bottle of perfume in her right hand. Eddie yanked his hand back and his face had a caught look. 

"Oh yeah, it looks great." The boy hurried over to the girl who sprays a dash of perfume on his neck. He feels confident about himself when he ones again looks in the mirror. But his eyes were still drawn to the little box with colorful pencils. 

Beverly catches his glance and understands immediately. With a kind smile she says:

"And not to forget the last step: make-up!"

Eddie gasped surprised. In the world he had grown up in, make-up on a boy was unimaginable. But as in so many other matters, Beverly Marsh did not seem to care. She simple grabbed him buy his shoulders and sat him down on the messy bed. Eddie curled up with his legs under him. Beverly sat down opposite him with the small box of make-up in her knee. The first brush tickled against his cheek. Beverly's face was a hard mask of concentration. 

"Close your eyes", she said and swept the brush over his eyelid. He sat still like a statue and waited patiently for her to finish. 

"All done!" she said after a little while. Beverly crawled of the bed and Eddie opened his eyes. He rose, and ones again looked at himself in the mirror. His cheekbones had tint of pink and his eyelids was glittery orange. 

Eddie did not know it at the time but the makeup he was wearing was childish and quite clumsy done. But he could not care less. He smiled at himself and could not stop. In that moment everything was perfect, because he looked cute and hoped Richie would think that too. Then the nervousness and the butterflies came. Oh my god, he was almost sixteen and this was his first date ever. Pathetic. 

Suddenly the butterflies left his stomach and started to fill up his throat until he was unable to breathe. He struggled to get air and reached for his inhaler in his back pocket and inhaled sharply. The anxiety just got worse and he started to feel nauseous. The room started to spin and all color disappeared from his face. But all of a sudden he felt a pressure against his back. The girl in whom's room he stood, was hugging him. It was a friendly hug that made Eddie feel soft and warm inside. All the butterflies calmed down and he no longer felt like trowing up. He let himself melt into the arms of his beloved friend for a while before they both let go of each other. 

"Richie is gonna have the best night in his life", she said. "By the way, you're way out of his league."

Eddie smiled, peeked at his watch and saw that he had to leave. 

"I can't thank you enough for helping me", Eddie said with a grateful smile. "What on earth would I do without you?"

"You would't survived a day."

"Goodbye Beverly Marsh, and thank you again."

As soon as he left the house, the warm and stifling summer air hit his face. His bike was carefully leaned against the fence. The ride trough the town of Derry was wonderful and short. It was not a very pleasant town to live in, but tonight it was beautiful. 

He arrived at the gas station six minuets before eight. He parked his bike and waited. There was no people at all, expect a few cars passing by. After eleven and a half minute (not that Eddie counted) a bike came down the road and on the bike sat someone with a hideous shirt flying behind him like a cape in the wind. As he came closer Eddie saw that Richie too had made an effort to his appearance. The curly hair was combed back and although he wore his favorite button-down, the white shirt under was clean. Richie threw his bike on the ground next to Eddie's and slowly went forward until they stood face to face. It felt like the air froze and everything stood still for just a minute. Eddie took a deep breath and smiled a shy smile. 

"Hi", he said, breathless. 

"Well hello", the curly haired boy answered with a hoarse voice. 

For a moment, Eddie was scared that Richie would freak out and crack a joke just to get rid of the awkward situation just as he always did, but no, he stood still. Eddie was eternally grateful to Richie for giving them this moment of peace together.

Richie pulled up his hand and softly placed his fingertips on Eddie's jaw. The curly haired boy started to slowly stroke Eddie's face until he reached the chin. The shorter boy inhaled sharply and a ugly thought struck his mind. What if Richie did not like make-up on boys? What if he thought it was wrong and disgusting? What if he thought that make-up was for girls and girls only!?

But all of his negative thoughts popped like a soap bubble as soon as his date opened his mouth. And yes, now Eddie was positive that date was exactly what Richie was. What else would he be?

"You are very pretty tonight Eds", the taller boy said. His face expression was soft and warm and every little trace of Trashmouth Tozier was gone. Just Richie left. Eddie was so captivated by Richie's face that he did not even raise an eyebrow at the stupid nickname. 

"Thank you Richie", Eddie said. "Shall we?"

He reached out his hand and took Richie's hand in his own. And without any destination they started walking. The beautiful, quiet night and the pink sky made that first night very special and a memory both Eddie and Richie would carry with them, their entire lives.


End file.
